PRIDE OUTLAST BEAUTS IN OFFENSIVE SHOWDOWN

Between the Beauts and the Pride, there were 12 goals scored on Sunday afternoon in a close matchup. Despite Buffalo’s best comeback efforts, the Pride skated away with a 7-5 win led by Jillian Dempsey’s six-point night.

Dempsey tied current Beaut Mikyla Grant-Mentis for most points in a single PHF game with the six-point day, scoring a hat trick and notching three assists for Boston. Boston’s top line finished with 15 points between the three players; besides Dempsey’s six, Loren Gabel added five points (2G, 3A) and Élizabeth Giguère posted four points (1G, 3A).

Buffalo’s line of Emma Nuutinen and Jenna Suokko centered by Summer Rae Dobson was dominant for the Beauts. Nuutinen and Dobson led the way with a goal and assist apiece, (Dobson’s goal was the first of her PHF career), while Suokko scored her first goal this season and the third of her PHF career. Defender Antonia Matzka also had a banner day from the blue line, notching two goals in the loss.

The first period was a roller coaster. Boston struck first just over five minutes into the frame when Aneta Tejralová made it 1-0 Pride. Buffalo answered back seven minutes later with Matzka’s first of the night. After the home team won the face-off, Matzka picked up a slick pass from Maddie Truax and skated in a few strides before letting lose a shot that beat Corinne Schroeder to make it 1-1.

Undeterred, Boston scored two unanswered goals to end the first period up 3-1. With less than two and a half minutes in the frame, Gabel scored to make it 2-1, and Dempsey continued her trend of scoring in the last minute of a period against the Beauts, making it 3-1 with 54 seconds to go.

Dempsey scored her second goal of the day six minutes and 55 seconds into the second frame, giving Boston a three-goal lead. Suokko cut into that lead shortly after, picking up a pass from Nuutinen and putting away her own rebound to make it 4-2. Neither team would score again in the middle frame, and Boston held a two-goal lead heading into the second intermission.

Giguère attempted to put the game away for Boston in the third, scoring three and a half minutes into the third period to make it 5-2 Pride, but the Beauts refused to go quietly. Buffalo scored three unanswered goals, including their first two power play goals of the season, to tie the game up at five all. Matzka scored her second goal of the day, a blast from the blue line four seconds into a power play, and less than a minute later, Dobson scored on the next power play for the Beauts to pull her team within one. Nuutinen tipped the puck past Schroeder on a shot from Jessica Healey to tie things back up and bring the Beauts faithful to their feet.

Despite the heroic comeback effort from Buffalo, Dempsey showed why she’s the captain of the powerhouse Pride and scored her third goal of the game during a chaotic sequence in front of goalie Lovisa Berndtsson, who replaced starter Kassidy Sauvé after the fifth Pride goal.

The Beauts couldn’t find the equalizer in the final four minutes, though the team pulled Berndtsson for an extra attacker late.

The Beauts will host Toronto in their upcoming two-game series next weekend; the puck will drop on Friday night at 7 pm EST and then again on Saturday at 7 pm EST.

About the Buffalo Beauts

The Buffalo Beauts are a professional women's ice hockey team based in Buffalo, New York and competing in the Premier Hockey Federation (formerly the National Women’s Hockey League). The Beauts are one of the Founding Four teams that stepped on the ice in 2015 and the 2017 Isobel Cup Champions. The team is owned and operated by NLTT Hockey Ventures. Visit beauts.nwhl.zone to learn more.

About the Premier Hockey Federation (PHF)

The PHF is the leading home of professional women’s hockey in North America. Established in 2015 as the National Women’s Hockey League, the NWHL rebranded to become the PHF in 2021 and maintains the mission to provide strong role models and fuel the continued growth of the sport. The league is made up of the Boston Pride, Buffalo Beauts, Connecticut Whale, Metropolitan Riveters, Minnesota Whitecaps, Montreal Force and the Toronto Six who all compete annually for the Isobel Cup.